REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Apple makes good hardware. It does not always make good software. Its default keyboard is one example of that.
Thankfully, anyone in search of something else has worthy alternatives to choose from. As a recent iOS convert, I’m one of those people. So, for everyone’s benefit, I’ve tried to find the best of the bunch.
A couple of notes: I focused on keyboards that are explicitly designed for typing — sorry, Kim — and tried to weed out options with poor user reviews.
Here’s how the iPhone’s virtual keyboard market breaks down today.
8. Blink Keyboard
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I don’t really think you should use Blink Keyboard: It has no swipe typing — i.e., the ability to slide your finger across the keyboard to form words, instead of manually tapping each key — and the notes from its last developer update in March merely say “fix bug.” It works like a less accurate version of Apple’s default keyboard that’s also slightly more sluggish. When you make a mistake, it too often autocorrects to gibberish; being forced to be precise is the last thing you want from a smartphone keyboard.
Still, it does have a few things going for it: The “fast delete” button lets you quickly scrap whole words at a time; there’s a one-handed mode that lets you crunch the keys over to one side of the screen; and, when your phone is in landscape mode, it splits apart like an ergonomic keyboard, making it feel a little more natural for your thumbs.
But all of that only means so much when the keyboard itself is sloppy.
7. Go Keyboard
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Go Keyboard lets you adjust the height and spacing of the keyboard on the fly, download a bunch of cutesy themes and stickers, and use swipe typing.
But again, it’s not quite as fluid or reliable as its peers when it comes to actually typing. It’s fine, but there isn’t much incentive to go out of your way for it.
6. Minuum
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Minuum is one of the more technically impressive keyboards for iOS. Its big hook is that it can shrink the whole keyboard down to a single row, saving screen space and letting you see more of your web page or text conversation.
That actually works, too, because Minuum’s prediction and autocorrecting skills are much more aggressive than most of its peers. When everything goes right — either in the mini or full-size mode — you can fire off texts very quickly. I also appreciate how developer Whirlscape doesn’t go out of its way to obscure the app’s privacy settings.
The problem is those autocorrections can be too forward for their own good; Minuum learns quickly enough, but it can still spurt out the wrong word, slow you down, and force you to type again. There’s no swipe typing, either. And it hasn’t been updated since January 2016. And the whole thing costs $ 4. Unless the mini mode appeals to you, you can probably pass.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
